Humorist, newspaper columnist, and actor Robert Charles Benchley is born in Worcester, Massachusetts. He starred in the 1941 Disney feature film The Reluctant Dragon, giving a loose tour of the then-new Walt Disney Studios facility in Burbank, California. Benchley is best remembered for his contributions to The New Yorker,

where his essays, sometimes topical - sometimes absurd, influenced many modern humorists. (Robert is the grandfather of Jaws writer Peter Benchley!)

1904:

British film and radio actor Tom Conway, the narrator of Disney's 1953

classic film Peter Pan, is born in St. Petersburg, Russia.

1925:

Disney's Alice comedyAlice the Jailbird is generally released. After stealing a pie, Alice

and Julius are put on a chain gang, where they escape with the help of a friendly ostrich.

1941:

Original Mouseketeer Don Underhill is born in Alhambra, California.

He was hired for the first year of the Mickey Mouse Club based on his dancing skills.

1955:

Filmmaker Bruce Reitherman, who as a youngster voiced Christopher Robin in The

Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Mowgli in The Jungle Book, is born in

Most of Walt Disney World remains closed due to the public threat of Hurricane Floyd. Heavy rains and strong winds hit Central Florida in the morning. Only essential employees are asked to

report to work and guests who are staying at Disney's campgrounds are given shelter at the convention center at the Contemporary Resort. It is the first time in Disney's 28-year history that it has been forced to close almost all of its parks. When the hurricane's impact is not as great as expected, officials decide to open just Animal Kingdom from noon to

8:00 p.m., for resort guests only. (The rest of Disney World will reopen the following day.)

2000:

Tokyo Disneyland celebrates Respect For The Aged Day (a national holiday in

The Disneyland Viewliner, a narrow gauge, miniature train running since June 1957,

shuts down forever. Billed as "the fastest miniature train in the world," it was the park's first attempt at mass-

transit. Two separate trains, designed and built as scale replicas of General Motors' futuristic Aerotrain, traveled

along a figure-eight track through parts of Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. (The Aerotrain was a streamlined

trainset introduced by General Motors Electro-Motive Division in the mid-1950s.) The Tomorrowland train featured

cars that were named for the planets, while the cars of the Fantasyland train were named after various Disney characters. The Disneyland Monorail System will take the place of Viewliner in June 1959.

1857:

William Howard Taft, the twenty-seventh United States President

(1909-1913), is born in Cincinnati, Ohio. In 1921, he became the 10th Chief

Justice of the United States, thus being the only person to have served in both offices. Visit

him and all the U.S. Chief Executives at Disney World's Hall of Presidents.

2008:

It is reported that the first center in eastern Africa designed to rescue, rehabilitate and reintroduce orphaned gorillas back into the wild will begin construction later this month

in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund will provide funding toward initial operating expenses for the facility. In addition, experts from Disney’s Animal Programs will provide

materials and in-kind services to assist with development and construction of the center, help relocate the current orphaned gorillas and provide educational opportunities for students and the community.

WDW's Disney Dining Experience is re-named Tables in Wonderland. It is a dining discount program for eligible Florida Residents and Annual Passholders.

Directed by Jack Kinney with animation by Art Babbitt, Goofy (in multiple roles) plays all the

positions on both teams to demonstrate the sport. The Goofies of Taxidermy Tech take on the

Goofies of Anthropology A and M ... with hilarious results.

2009:

The World Premiere of the groundbreaking documentary Waking Sleeping Beauty

takes place at the Toronto International Film Festival. The film (directed by Don Hahn)

chronicles the revival of Walt Disney Animation beginning in the 1980s and the start of the decade-long Disney Renaissance. The Disney Renaissance refers to the era when the Walt Disney Animation Studios returned to making successful animated films mostly based on fairy tales.

Breathing Underwater, the second album by American singer Marié Digby, is

released worldwide through Disney's Hollywood Records (although Amazon has

Radio Disney kicks off the third season of N.B.T. (Next Big Thing). A 10-week search for musical talent and hosted by on-air personality Jake Whetter, Radio Disney and Disney Channel audiences will

be invited to look, listen and vote for their favorite artists. Every two weeks, a new artist will be introduced with a winner being announced December 3. Amber Lily, a 13-year-old pop and R&B singer-songwriter from San

Francisco, California is introduced on this day with her single, "222L8."

"Ollie was a madman, funny, eccentric, noisy, unexpected, and loved by everyone. He was

caustic, satiric, looked like a little Bantam rooster, and never let anyone get the best of him.

He was primarily an improvising musician with a great sense of music, and from his years of

playing organ to silent movies he was able to match music to any piece of action."

-Disney Animator Frank Thomas on Composer Oliver Wallace

2012:

Starting this day, Disney World guests can dive "under the sea" with Ariel and

become part of her world when "The Little Mermaid" Wing at Disney's Art of

Animation Resort officially opens. The resort’s 4th and final phase, this value property features a